The Collectors - 13

A Growing Collection

Of Early Crown Lynn Vases

Populating Shelf Space May 2010. Ajr.

On Cafe Patrol

I visited a new café in New Brighton (Christchurch) the other day. Jungle Patrol is a couple of blocks back from the beach and several blocks from the main (easily forgettable) New Brighton shopping centre. It inhabits one of those quaint, old, closed-down corner shops, brought back to life with a new generation of temptations on offer - in this case, coffee and collectible Crown Lynn, that ubiquitous New Zealand pottery that colonised just about every New Zealand kitchen cupboard through the sixties and seventies. Jungle Patrol owner, David (I forgot to ask his surname) is a collector himself and in his first month of operating the café, he’s set out a terrific Crown Lynn display on retro shelving and sideboards. There are books on Crown Lynn for the coffee drinkers to browse and he has his computer set up on the counter and if you’re interested, he’ll direct you to Crown Lynn listings on the web. With just one big central table for customers and a few chairs outside, it’s an intimate and interesting experience – especially if you’re a Crown Lynn fan. Many of the pieces are for sale too, so make sure you roll up with your collector’s fund.

Crown Lynn on Show

Three Swans

One Window

Crown Lynn

Poplar Lane

Christchurch

August 2009. Ajr

The Collectors - 11

All photos April 2009. Auckland Ajr

Collectible Crown Lynn gathered across a piano top in Auckland. One collector's passion for early New Zealand ceramics is spreading throughout the house. Swans have alighted upon every surface and handpotted vases are clustered together in safe corners. For others in this series click on Collectors in the label line below this post.

The Collectors - 10

Talk to me about collecting and collectors and my heart skips a beat, my knees wobble and I feel faint with excitement. I'm fascinated to the core by the whole concept of collecting - what we collect, why we collect and the strange, obsessive urge that overtakes us in the pursuit of objects we become passionately focussed upon. So it was with true delight that I pounced on this small-but-growing collection of early, miniature Crown Lynn pottery vases recently. It all started with a gift apparently - two little vases given by a friend who was clearing out her cupboards. I haven't featured any collectors for a while but if you'd like to see those already covered, just click on Collectors in the index line below this post.

Artist Studios - 6

Christchurch painter, Rudolf Boelee considers himself “a history painter” – someone interested in social conscience and a strong sense of the past. I visited his studio yesterday and my eyes were darting from the second I arrived to the second I left because, fortunately for me, Rudolf is also an avid collector. Currently exhibiting “Exiles” at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery, Invercargill (until June 22) and in “Made in New Zealand” at Devonport’s Flagstaff Gallery in Auckland (until May 21), Rudolf is now working on “Heroes,” a series that considers who is and what makes a hero. Well known New Zealand names from history - Charles Upham, Sir Edmund Hillary, Jean Batten, Robin Hyde, Tenzing Norgay, Sir Bernard Freyberg - are all featured.
Interestingly, Dutch-born Rudolf is the owner of the famous New Zealand pottery name, Crown Lynn and since 1997 many of his paintings have featured iconic Crown Lynn pieces like the white swans, vases and New Zealand Rail cups. His passion for Crown Lynn is ongoing and he also collects the actual pottery – along with assorted German ceramics. A visit to the home he shares with his wife, fabric artist, Robyne Voyce, is like stepping into a colourful paint box. www.opshop.co.nz

The Collectors - 2

Here’s another collector – someone who has become slightly potty about collecting coffee and espresso cups – chiefly Crown Lynn and Poole with a few surprises thrown in. It should be noted that this is only part of the ever-growing total collection.
I’m always fascinated by the phenomenon of collecting. Being a collector myself – of assorted and passing fancies – I know how addictive the whole business can become. Once you isolate something that resonates in some way, it becomes a compulsion almost. I speak for myself of course!